Comments (English):I got the hotel's information from Lonely Planet. It's even more interesting than the description from the guide book. Fantastic location and quiet courtyard, with nice staffs. They even prepared a guitar for the guests to play, so I played my favourate songs with the staffs and had a wonderful time there!

Comments (English):I don't know if it a typical Chinese courtyard or not, but my whole family enjoyed our stay at Hutongren. Especially my kids, they love the puppy, the white parrot, the lovely front and back yard, and the sweet girls who work here. They can speak very well English and are so enthusiastic, the whole experience is just AWSOME! I love Beijing!

Comments (English):This place was really friendly and in the middle of a hutong, so it is a great location for all tourist attractions within the city like houhai lakes, the forbidden city and the hutongs.

As far as tours, I did end up going down the street to Beijing Backpackers who would translate places and addresses into chinese characters to give to taxis, and to arrange great tours such as the Simatai Great Wall Walk.